Facebook to let teen users share with public audience

MENLO PARK -- Facebook is letting teenagers share their photos and updates with a broader audience, but the popular social network says it's also taking steps to prevent accidental "oversharing."

Under a new policy that took effect Wednesday, Facebook users who are under 18 can now share posts with the public, instead of being limited to their friends or friends of friends.

The new policy is similar to public-sharing rules used by rival social networks such as Twitter and Google (GOOG)+, but it drew mixed reviews from advocates for children. Some praised the company for building safety measures into the policy, while others complained the changes could make it easier for strangers and advertisers to track young users on the social network.

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Facebook has recently been criticized for other moves that have made users' profiles more public or discoverable through its search function. But at a time when numerous social apps and messaging services are vying for young consumers, Facebook said it wants to give teens more choice in how they use the world's biggest social network.

"Teens are among the savviest people using social media, and whether it comes to civic engagement, activism or their thoughts on a new movie, they want to be heard," the company said in a blog post.

"While only a small fraction of teens using Facebook might choose to post publicly, this update now gives them the choice," the company said. A spokesman added, "This update does not change how ads are shown on Facebook, either to teens or others."

Teens will also be allowed to choose a setting that lets anyone "follow" them, which means their public posts can appear in the updates seen by a person with whom they have no mutual friends. Until now, teens on Facebook could only share with a narrower audience, such as their friends and their friends' friends.

Facebook said it will show a cautionary notice to teenagers when they choose a "public" audience. The notice will remind teens that the post can be seen "by anyone, not just people you know" and will offer the option to choose a narrower setting.

In another move, Facebook said teens who join Facebook will have their audience initially set by default to people they have accepted as friends on the network. Until now, the default setting was a broader audience that included both friends and "friends of friends."

Current users under 18 won't have their settings changed unless they choose to do so. Facebook doesn't allow users under age 13, although independent researchers say several million kids under 13 have opened Facebook accounts by lying about their age.

One critic, Jeffrey Chester of the watchdog Center for Digital Democracy, complained the new policy "removes a safeguard that teens currently have." But Colby Zintl of Common Sense Media said she was glad to see the safety notices Facebook is adding.

"Facebook changes its privacy policies on a regular basis, so we encourage parents to continually check their kids' privacy settings, and make sure you're comfortable with what you and your kids have decided to set them on," Zintl added.

Contact Brandon Bailey at 408-920-5022; follow him at Twitter.com/BrandonBailey.